Combined shipping and presentation package

Abstract: A combined shipping and presentation package 1 according to one aspect of the disclosed invention comprises two display trays 2 respectively having an L-shaped configuration and being joined to form a U-shaped configuration. A connecting member 3 is provided to close the U-shape, and the joints 5 between the connecting member 3 and the respective tray 2 as well as the joint 4 between the trays 2 are designed as weaknesses so that the shipping configuration can be opened to provide two trays 2 for presentation purposes.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a combined shipping and presentation package for holding flat packed goods or flat containers, in particular plastic containers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the past, such goods or flat containers were packed in rows next to each other in flat cartons open at the top, the cartons being wrapped around with a plastic band running lengthwise to the container rows to prevent the goods from falling out of the carton during transport. However, the danger existed in such packages that the goods could still fall out of the carton to the side during transport, or that the opening of the plastic bands with a knife or the like to present the merchandise in displays resulted in the goods located below the plastic bands becoming damaged or destroyed. These problems and disadvantages were successfully solved by a combined shipping and presentation package as described in US-A-5,293,991. This known combined shipping and optionally presentation package for holding flatly packed goods or flat containers possesses at least two presentation trays for holding the plastic containers and a slipover cover with two opposite downward extending sides placed on the presentation trays as well as means for holding the slipover cover on the presentation trays. Each of the presentation trays can have a long and a short flank and therefore be L-shaped in side view and be arranged standing in a row on the short flanks under the slipover cover. Thus, the goods are protected in the presentation trays by the slipover cover against damage during shipping. Additionally, the holding means are easily removed to be able to pull off the slipover cover and immediately obtain the consumer-attractive presentation trays which are then placed in the displays. Despite the improvements introduced by this known combined shipping and presentation package, it still has various disadvantages. On the one hand, the known combined shipping and presentation packages produce a large quantity of waste material in the form of the slipover covers when the presentation trays are removed from the package for display purposes. This large quantity of waste material is significant for various reasons. Firstly, modern environmental considerations require maximum reductions in waste material. Further, the additional material implies greater costs in manufacturing the package. Also, local laws exist which make it the responsibility of the manufacturer to dispose of the packaging in which the goods are delivered and excessive quantities of waste material therefore increase the cost and effort in such disposal. A combined shipping and presentation package is known from BE-A-868 616 and comprises two presentation trays, each tray having a flat bottom section including upstanding sidewalls and end walls, one of the end walls being higher than the sidewalls and an opposite end wall so as to form an L-shaped tray, the two trays being contiguously positioned such that the free edges of the higher end wall of each tray opposite the flat bottom section are joined with each other such that the two trays jointly provide a U-shaped configuration. Further, a connecting portion extends contiguously between and is releasably joined to opposing free edges of the opposite end wall of each tray opposite the flat bottom section. This document also discloses a sheet or carton blank which can be folded around product items so as to provide such a combined shipping and presentation package. The present invention is based on the problem of providing a combined shipping and presentation package of the type mentioned above which maintains the advantages both for the shipping and the presentation while simultaneously avoiding the disadvantages described above in respect of the previously known packages and allows the pluralities of trays to be arranged in a variety of ways with respect to each other. This problem is solved according to the present invention by a combined shipping and presentation package comprising the features of claim 1. Detailed embodiments thereof are described in the dependent claims 2 to 14 Additionally, the present invention is based on the problem of providing a sheet of material or a carton blank which can be folded around product items to provide such a combined shipping and presentation package. This problem is solved according to the present invention by a package sheet according to claim 15 and a carton blank according to claim 16. The combined shipping and presentation package according to the invention provides significant advantages over the previously known packages. The inventive package one-piece wrap around blank can on its own successfully meet all requirements in terms of stability and protection against damage during shipping while simultaneously removing the need to provide separate presentation trays. This represents a significant reduction in the amount of packaging material required, as the inventive package only produces a minor quantity of waste material when the shipping configuration is separated into the individual presentation trays. The relatively small amount of packaging material needed to produce the inventive package also means that the packaging costs are significantly reduced. Additionally, the expense in disposing of the waste material is also significantly lower on account of the reduced volume of waste material. A further significant advantage of the inventive combined shipping and presentation package lies in the ability to avoid one packaging step in production in comparison to the previously known combined package described above, as there is no need to separately mount a slipover cover and secure this to the presentation trays with the retaining means. Additionally, the shipping or transport packaging simultaneously serves as the retail presentation tray so that handling of the inventive package is easier. Despite the significant savings in packaging and production costs as well as packaging material, the appropriate strength and stability of the package or trays during shipping, distribution and arrangement in displays have also been advantageously maintained. In particular, the asymmetric arrangement of the releasable joints or weaknesses contributes to improved strength of the package with L-shaped trays, as the weaknesses do not lie in one plane and are thus less likely to be accidentally opened. The simple but effective design of the inventive combined shipping and presentation package with releasable joints, which can be provided as perforated lines or the like, makes for extremely easy handling of the package in its shipping configuration. The inventive package can be directly changed into two display units in the form of the presentation trays by simply tearing away the connecting member and either completely separating the presentation trays from each other or forming a pair of presentation trays connected about the fold line as described in more detail below. In the design with two L-shaped trays, the U-shaped configuration contributes to easier opening of the package, as it allows for easy removal of the connecting member and a subsequent light application of force to open the U-shape and separate the trays. As revealed above, the releasable joints at both ends of the inventive packaging can be formed of perforated lines. However, in an advantageous embodiment, the releasable joints between the free edges of the higher wall ends can be formed as a tearing strip defined between two parallel perforated lines which end at the edge of the common plane of the higher wall ends. The adjacent side flap without the tearing strip can be provided with a fold line also formed of two parallel lines with substantially the same spacing as the parallel perforated lines of the tearing strip. When the connecting member and the tearing strip in this embodiment of the package are both removed, the two presentation trays are still connected along the fold line. However, since the fold line extends in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the presentation trays, the trays can be folded about the fold line while still being connected together to form a pair of trays for positioning in the display unit. This provides a useful alternative to the complete separation of the two presentation trays in terms of display arrangements or a double facing on retail shelves. The flaps formed along the free collinear side edges of the higher end walls provide good stability in the shipping configuration and also strengthen the presentation trays when these are formed out of the shipping configuration. This is also the case for the similar flaps formed along the collinear side edges of the opposite end walls and the connecting member. Further, by gluing together the overlapping parts of the upstanding sidewalls overlapping with the parts of the higher end wall flaps and the opposite end wall and connecting member flaps, a particularly high strength and stability of the shipping configuration of the inventive package is provided. Another significant advantage is provided in a further embodiment of the inventive package by the extensions of the releasable joints in the flaps at the opposing wall end of the packaging being overlapped by the sidewalls of the presentation tray sections of the package. If these extensions of the releasable joints or perforated lines are overlapped by the sidewalls, these sidewalls provide excellent protection for the perforated lines so that an accidental opening of the inventive package during shipping is avoided. Further, the perforated line sections in the flaps overlapped by the sidewalls can be arranged to extend parallel to the longitudinal edges of the sidewalls in another development of the inventive package. Therefore, in subsequently forming the presentation trays out of the shipping configuration of the inventive package by removing the connecting member, these longitudinal edges act as a cutting edge to guide and control the tearing open of the perforated line sections and thus simplify this operation. Advantageously, the one-piece blank forming the inventive package comprising the trays and the connecting member may be constituted of cardboard, pasteboard or any other suitable material. Further, the overlapping regions can be fastened together by means of adhesive means to maintain the shipping configuration of the package as well as the L-shaped configuration of each of the trays when these are subsequently used in displays. The adhesive means advantageously comprises a hot melt glue, as this provides for a simple manufacturing process. Naturally, the present invention is not limited to L-shaped trays, which allow for easy and convenient display of the product items. A package with trays having walls of equal height also falls within the scope of the present invention, as this still provides satisfactory presentation. In this case, the combined shipping and presentation package does not have to have any connecting member, or may be provided with such a member at each of its opposing ends to simplify opening. Alternatively, it may even have a single connecting member which defines the entire weakness point of the package at the joint between the two trays. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with the methods of manufacture of the carton blanks of this invention, whether the blanks are made of plastics, paper or other suitable materials. They will also be able to select suitable methods of folding the blanks around the product items, and suitable ways of fixing the blank around the product item, which might be welding if not hot melt glueing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is described in greater detail in the following by way of purely exemplary embodiments represented schematically in the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a combined shipping and presentation package according to one aspect of the invention, Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the inventive combined shipping and presentation package according to Fig. 1 and with plastic trays prior to being folded into the configuration shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3a shows a package blank of the embodiment according to Fig. 1 and 2 in plan view; Fig. 3b shows a further embodiment of a package blank in the same view as Fig. 3a; Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of a presentation tray with plastic containers in perspective view obtained from an inventive combined shipping and presentation package; and Figs. 5a to 5f show the various steps of forming presentation trays for display from an inventive combined shipping and presentation package. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The same reference signs are used throughout in the following for the same or corresponding parts of the inventive package. A combined shipment and presentation package 1 according to the present invention is shown in Fig. 1 in plan view in its shipping configuration and comprises two display units or presentation trays 2 and a connecting member 3. The presentation trays are releasably joined at one end of the inventive package by a perforated line 4 and at the other end by the connecting member 3 joined to each respective presentation tray 2 at a perforated line 5, as can be seen in Fig. 1. Each presentation tray has a flat bottom section 6 including upstanding sidewalls 7 and end walls 8 and 9. The end wall 8 is higher than the adjacent sidewall 7 and the opposing end wall 9 so as to define an L-shape of the presentation trays which is particularly suitable for display purposes. Each presentation tray 2 of the package 1 is designed in this manner to receive a plurality of flatly packed goods or plastic containers which are arranged on the flat bottom section 6 so as to be supportable against the higher end wall 8 when the presentation tray 2 is placed in a display unit. This configuration is described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 1 also shows flaps 10 which are formed along the collinear edges of the opposing sidewalls 9 and the connecting member 3 and extend horizontally in the upstanding shipping configuration shown in Fig. 1. Similar flaps 11 are provided along the free collinear edges of the higher end walls 8, as also shown in Fig. 1. These horizontal flaps 10 and 11 are respectively partially overlapped on the outside by the sidewalls 7 of the presentation trays, which sidewalls 7 extend vertically in the upstanding shipping configuration in Fig. 1. Further, the flaps 10 and 11 are secured to the sidewalls 7 by suitable means, preferably a hot melt glue shown as hatched areas in Fig. 1. Naturally, the most suitable form and location of the areas securing the package parts to each other can be selected as desired in dependence on manufacturing techniques and the like. The vertical walls 7 glued to the horizontal flaps 10, 11 provide a very stable structure of the shipping configuration of the inventive package 1 shown in Fig. 1 and together with the horizontal flaps 10 and 11 form openings in the sides of the package 1 which are useful for ventilation and refrigeration of the packed goods. Naturally, other forms of securing together desired parts of the package may be used, such as welding, stapling, taping etc. and any desirable combination of these securing methods may be employed depending on strength requirements, manufacturing techniques and the like. Fig. 2 shows the one-piece blank 15 of the inventive package 1 and the position of the flat goods to be packaged thereon, such as flat containers 20, before the one-piece blank 15 is formed into the inventive package 1 shown in Fig. 1. Additionally, the flaps and sidewalls of the respective trays 2 are also visible. Fig. 3a shows the blank of Fig. 2 in more detail in plan view. The shaded areas represent the areas in which the adhesive means such as hot melt glue are applied. The dashed lines F in Fig. 3a represent the folded lines of the inventive package in the shipping configuration. The blank shown in Fig. 3a is used to produce a package 1 of Fig. 1 in which the presentation trays 2 are completely separated for display purposes by tearing away connecting member 3 and completely opening perforated line 4. Fig. 3b shows a second embodiment of a one-piece blank of an inventive combined shipping and presentation package in plan view. Contrary to the blank of Fig. 3a with the simple perforated line 4 between the joined free edges of the higher end walls 8 and the adjoining flaps 11, the blank according to the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3b has a tearing strip 25 formed between two parallel perforated lines 26, the tearing strip ending in the common plane of the two adjoining higher end walls 8 at an opening 28 so that a further tearing of the joint between said higher end walls 8 at the respective flaps 11 of the adjacent trays 2, between which a fold line 29 is formed, is prevented. As can be seen in Fig. 3b, the fold line 29 is also formed between two parallel lines 30 with essentially the same spacing as the perforated lines 26 of the tearing strip 25 to ensure a proper subsequent positioning of the pair of attached presentation trays according to this embodiment. In Fig. 3b, reference signs F also denote fold lines formed when the respective blank has the shipping configuration of the package. Fig. 4 shows the arrangement of flatly packed goods such as flat plastic containers 20 in the presentation trays 2. The presentation trays 2 each have a long flank 31 and a short flank 32 respectively formed around the flat bottom section 6 and the higher end wall 8. Consequently, the presentation trays are L-shaped in side view. The presentation tray 2 shown in Fig. 4 is made from a one-piece flat and substantially rectangular blank such as that shown in Fig. 3a. However, in the case of presentation trays 2 which are displayed together in pairs as described above, the blank of Fig. 3b is used. In order to obtain the presentation trays 2 in the form shown in Fig. 4, the steps shown in Figs. 5a to 5f and described below are carried out on an inventive combined shipping and presentation package 1 in its shipping configuration, as shown, for example, in Fig. 1. The basic configuration of an inventive package corresponding to that of Fig. 1 is shown schematically in Fig. 5a. Firstly, the connecting member 3 is removed by tearing open the releasable joints in the form of the perforated lines 5 and removing the connecting member 3 in the direction of the arrows as shown in Fig. 5b. Subsequently, the releasable joint or perforated line 4 between the respective higher end walls 8 of the presentation trays 2 is easily broken by applying a light force to generate a leverage and separate the respective trays 2 in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 5c. After the perforated line 4 has been completely opened, two substantially identical presentation trays 2 are obtained, as shown in Fig. 5d. Fig. 5e shows one of these presentation trays 2 in the display position with the higher end wall 8 to the rear so that the flat containers or the like are correctly supported with their top face exposed by the appropriately shaped opening 33 in the opposite end wall 9 of the presentation wall. For simplicity, Fig. 5 does not show the containers 20. Naturally, the presentation trays can be arranged in displays in any desirable form. Thus, it is also possible to arrange the trays in pairs connected by the fold line 29 as shown in Fig. 5f and obtainable from the blank shown in Fig. 3b. Fig. 5f also shows a single tray behind the pair of presentation trays which can be obtained from a blank of Fig. 3a or by tearing open the fold line 29 to separate the pair. Thus, various configurations are possible for presentation arrangements.

Claims: A combined shipping and presentation package (1), comprising: two presentation trays (2), each tray having a flat bottom section (6) including upstanding sidewalls (7) and end walls (8, 9), one of the end walls (8) being higher than the sidewalls (7) and an opposite end wall (9) so as to form an L-shaped tray, the two trays (2) being contiguously positioned such that the free edges of the higher end wall (8) of each tray (2) opposite the flat bottom section (6) are releasably joined with each other such that the two trays (2) jointly provide a U-shaped configuration, and a connecting member (3) extending contiguously between and being releasably joined to opposing free edges of the opposite end wall (9) of each tray opposite the flat bottom section (6). A package (1) according to claim 1, wherein the releasable joints between the connecting member (3) and the respective free edge of the opposite end walls (9) comprise perforated lines (5). A package (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the releasable joint between the opposing free edges of the higher end walls (8) comprises a perforated line (4). A package (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein flaps (11) are formed along adjoining free side edges of the joined higher end walls (8), extend perpendicularly to the common plane of the higher end walls (8) and are at least partially overlapped on the outside by the respectively adjacent upstanding sidewall (7). A package (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein flaps (10) are formed along adjoining free side edges of the opposite end walls (9) and the connecting member (3), extend perpendicularly to the common plane of the opposite end walls (9) and the connecting member (3) and are at least partially overlapped on the outside by the respectively adjacent upstanding sidewall (7). A package (1) according to claim 4, wherein the releasable joint between the free edges of the higher end walls (8) extends to the free edge of one of the higher end wall flaps (11) and a fold line (29) is provided in the other higher end wall flap (11) and extends from an end of the releasable joint at the side edge of the common plate of the higher end walls (8) to the free edge of the other flap (11). A package (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the releasable joint between the free edges of the higher end walls (8) extends to the free edges of both higher end wall flaps (11). A package (1) according to claim 5, wherein the releasable joints between the connecting member (3) and the respective free edge of the opposite end walls (9) extend to the free edges of the opposite end wall and connecting member flaps (10). A package (1) according to claim 6, wherein the releasable joint is formed of a tearing strip (25) between two parallel perforated lines (26) and the fold line (29) is formed of two parallel lines (30) and has substantially the same width as the tearing strip (25). A package (1) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the extensions of the releasable joint or joints in the flaps (10, 11) are overlapped by the respective overlapping sidewall (7). A package (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the trays (2) and the connecting member (3) are constituted of cardboard or pasteboard. A package (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein adhesive means are provided for fastening the overlaps to maintain the configuration of the package and the L-shaped configuration of each of the trays (2). A package (1) according to claim 12, wherein the adhesive means comprises a hot melt glue. A package (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein each tray (2) of the package (1) is adapted to receive a plurality of flatly packed goods or flat containers (20) arranged on the flat bottom section (6) so as to be supportable against the higher end wall (8). A combined shipping and presentation package (1) which has two opposed end faces spaced apart by a plurality of sidewalls (7, 8, 9) and which is formed from a sheet of material, the sheet defining: first and second product display units (2) arranged face to face and each including one of the end faces, to enclose product items therebetween; lines of weakness (4, 5) in the sheet in zones of at least two of the sidewalls (8, 9), to enable the package (1) to be split on the lines of weakness (4, 5) into the two display units (2), each of which contains at least one product item (20). A carton blank (15) which can be folded around product items (20) to provide a combined shipping and presentation package (1) for at least two product items (20) arranged side by side within the package, the blank (15) having a long axis and further comprising: i a first end face panel (6) and a second end face panel (6), spaced apart along the axis by at least one intervening first sidewall panel (8) with fold lines transverse to the long axis separating the end face from each of the sidewalls; ii said first sidewall panel (8) having at least one line or zone of weakness (4) by which the end faces can be separated from each other; iii the blank (15) extending along its axis through a further fold line into a second sidewall panel (9), also having at least one line or zone of weakness (5) which permits the end faces to be separated from each other; and iv sufficient tabs or flaps (10, 11) on the margins of the aforesaid panels to permit the formation, by folding and fixing of the tabs or flaps (10, 11) to the respective adjacent panels, of a pair of trays (2) each based on a different one of the end faces, to protect the product items (20) in transit and then, after separating the two trays (2) one from the other, to display the items in the trays (2).

Inventors: SCHLICHT RAINER DIPL-ING, SCHLICHT, RAINER, DIPL.-ING.
Applicants: KRAFT JACOBS SUCHARD R & D INC, KRAFT JACOBS SUCHARD R & D, INC.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65D5
IPC codes: B65D5